medical debt

Trinity Moravian Church raised more than $25,000 as part of its winter campaign to buy debt for pennies on the dollar and then forgive it.

The church has forgiven more than $18 million in medical debt for families since first launching its relief initiative in 2022.

The state's new medical debt relief program has succeeded in getting all eligible hospitals on board. In exchange for relieving medical debt for millions of North Carolinians, the hospitals will receive increased Medicaid reimbursements.

At the start of the month, Gov. Roy Cooper announced a plan to bring medical debt down in the state. He stopped in Winston-Salem on Monday to discuss the topic further with local advocacy groups and state agencies.

At the start of the month, Gov. Roy Cooper announced a plan to bring medical debt down in the state. He stopped in Winston-Salem on Monday to discuss the topic further with local advocacy groups and state agencies.

North Carolina state government is seeking to rid potentially billions in medical debt from low- and middle-income residents by offering a financial carrot for hospitals to take unpaid bills off the books. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper unveiled a plan Monday to take away patients' debt and help future patients receive deep discounts or enroll in charity programs. If federal Medicaid regulators approve it, the move would mean roughly 100 hospitals receiving enhanced federal Medicaid reimbursement funds could get even more funds. Other state and local governments have tapped into federal American Rescue Plan funds to cancel debt.

A Winston-Salem church has partnered with a New York-based nonprofit to purchase and forgive the medical debt of nearly 3,000 households in Wake County.